


Day 5- Knives

by Broken_Clover



Series: Goretober 2019 [5]
Category: Guilty Gear
Genre: Blood, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Gen, Stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 15:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20914019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: "I can’t help you unless you tell me what the problem is.”Chipp didn’t reply at first. “Someone got stabbed.”





	Day 5- Knives

Answer resisted giving a weary sigh as his phone started ringing, with Chipp’s number appearing below the notification.

“Hello, this is Answer.” He said, in his usual polite greeting.

“Answer! Hey.” Chipp’s voice was oddly lacking in its exuberant cheer, instead sounding more breathy and soft. “You busy?”

“I’m in the middle of work, if that’s what you mean.” It seemed like a stupid question, when _wasn’t_ Answer busy with paperwork? Politics didn’t make for a light workload.

He’d expected that Chipp would have immediately demanded that he drop everything and deal with whatever new problem that had come up. Instead, the only reply he got was a quiet “oh, I can call back later, then.”

That, combined with his boss’ unusually calm tone, put an odd feeling in Answer’s chest. “Boss, are you alright? Is something wrong?”

“What? No! No, everything’s fine. Just kinda winded from running.”

“And what were you running for?”

“Uh…” A little titch of fear mixed in with the softness. “Okay, okay. Th-there’s...a problem over in the north..fuck _why can’t I think of the name-_”

“Boss? Boss, try to stay calm.” Answer felt his own voice growing more unbalanced. “What’s wrong? I can’t help you unless you tell me what the problem is.”

Chipp didn’t reply at first. “S-someone got stabbed.”

_“WHAT?”_ Answer jumped out of his chair. “Boss, send me your coordinates _now_. Do they not have a town medic?? I thought we had one assigned to every town! Depending on where you are I can have personnel sent over to your location within-”

“Stop! I-I- I can handle this, Answer!” Chipp shouted back. “I p-promise it’s not that bad, I just really need you to- to talk me through this right now.”

“Boss, that’s ridiculous! If it isn’t that serious, then there’s no reason that you shouldn’t have a professional handle this!”

“Answer.” His tone grew stern. “She’s young, and she’s terrified. Please.”

It was a weak argument, but Answer still found himself freezing, losing the will to argue. “...How old?”

“Uh...six or seven?”

“Can you ask her specifically?”

“She won’t stop crying, I can’t get anything out of her.”

Aside from Chipp’s voice, he couldn’t hear anything over the magic-com. “Where are you right now? Where is she?”

“I stepped out so I could talk to you. Her mom’s trying to get her to calm down.”

“Okay. If you’re absolutely sure about this…”

“I am.”

Answer drummed his fingertips on the desk. “You said is wasn’t too bad? I need more details. How deep, where it is it located, what made it. Don’t pull the blade out-”

“Don’t pull it out?” Chipp cut him off.

“-if it’s still still stuck in there, no.” Answer quirked an eyebrow. “Is it?”

“No- no, not that deep. Uh, I th-think it’s a fishing knife, think they said she was playing with her dad’s stuff and it fell off a shelf.”

The secretary paused. “How’d a fishing knife get so far inland? Is the village lakeside?”

“Man, I don’t know!”

“Breathe, boss, you’re freaking out.” Answer walked over to one of his file cabinets and started looking for the emergency handbook. Not that he expected to have forgotten anything in it, but maybe it could still be of use. “Alright, so probably more of a graze than an actual stab wound.”

“What would happen if it was an actual stab wound?”

“Well, more blood, of course, and concerns with the lungs collapsing if it was in the chest. Any punctures to the internal organs will probably need surgery. Where is the wound located?”

“Arm. Left arm.” The response came back even shakier.

“You have to stop panicking. How can you expect to help when you can’t keep yourself calm?”

“Sorry, sorry-”

With his skills as a multitasker, it wasn’t hard for Answer to find the book while still talking. “Okay, so graze to the arm with a sharp object. Shouldn’t be too difficult to handle, main concern is stopping the blood flow with pressure.”

Chipp made a little muffled noise. “Sounds like she’s calmed down a little, I’m going in.”

“Just try and keep your breathing even.” Chipp’s still sounded awkward and breathy, and even if Answer wasn’t worried about the fool making himself faint, he knew it wouldn’t exactly appear inviting. “Keep her distracted. Ask her favorite animal, or something like that. Have her lie down on the floor with her arm up above her heart to limit the blood flow.”

“Okay…”

The line went quiet. Answer had to check and make sure that he hadn’t accidentally hung up the phone by accident. “Chipp?”

“S-shit- hey. Things are looking pretty ok right now, but what do I do about the blood?”

“I told you, put pressure on it. I know you’re panicking, but try to remember what I tell you.”

He could make out an odd sort of laugh. “Heh, you’re right, I’m not good at this kind of thing…”

“Chipp, stop feeling sorry for yourself and get to work. Find a clean rag and press it over the wound to stifle the bleeding.”

“Hahaha...s-sorry, rag, rag, what do I do with the rag?”

“_CHIPP!_” Answer snapped, feeling his grip on the book tighten. “This isn’t time to be joking! Now will you just focus already?!”

He got no apology that time. Answer was hoping that meant he had gotten serious and had his hands busy. He could make out the vague sound of something shuffling, but nothing aside from that.

“I got- I got her on the floor, got the rag on. And it’s a frog.”

“What?”

“Her favorite animal’s a frog.”

In spite of the situation, Answer felt a little smirk on his face. “Mine too. How’s the bleeding?”

“It’s-” Before Chipp could say anything, he was cut off by a deep, wet-sounding cough. Answer could tell that is was his just from the sound, but the suddenness of it still made him jump.

“Boss, are you alright? That didn’t sound good.”

“Just fine, just tired.”

“You’re still winded? I assumed you’d have recovered from it by now.”

“Yeah, heh, me too, maybe I’m just having an off day?”

“Possible. How is she?”

“Huh?”

Answer blinked. “The girl?”

“Oh, her! She- she’s good, she looks good. It looks more under control now.”

Answer felt something uncomfortable in his chest. Discarding the medical book, he went back into his files in search of something else.

“You did a good job, Chipp.” He kept his tone calm. “And tell her that she did, too. Very brave.”

“I know, right? I dunno how I’d be able to stay so chill. It’s the same color every time.”

“That...doesn’t make any sense.” He replied, pulling out a thick file. “How are you doing? You still sound winded.”

“I’m all good! Feeling a lot better now, honestly.” Answer could hear him trying to muffle another cough. “So I’ll stop bugging you-”

“Boss…” Answer’s words were soft, though he realized that it was more for him than for Chipp. “I checked the records. All of the north villages have medics. There’s no logical reason for a fishing knife to be that far north. And why were you so forgetful? I know you’ve got a better memory than that.”

He could tell from the tone that Chipp realized what he was trying to say. “I-I…”

“...You’re not in any of the villages, are you?”

“Ha ha...you’re really good at this, Answer.”

“What?”

“Directions. You’re really good at them.”

“That’s not an answer!” He slammed his hand against the cabinet. “What’s going on?! Where are you?!”

++++++

The midday sun shone bright over a grubby alleyway, illuminating a red puddle. A pale, trembling hand gripped a soaked rag around a knife handle embedded in his ribs, with the other still somehow managing to keep a communicator running.

“Chipp?!” Answer’s voice barked from the other end. “Tell me where you are!”

“Can’t remember.” The act of talking made his chest rise and fall, drawing out another wet cough and a burst of pain as the blade jostled in place. “Thought it’d be easier to think when- when I wasn’t bleeding so much.”

“Why didn’t you tell me from the beginning?!”

“Didn’t want you to worry. ‘m okay, An, jus’ need to sleep a little.”

“_NO!_ Don’t you _dare_ fall asleep on me! Don’t you _dare_ die!”

“My hands feel fuzzy…”

“Th-that’s...focus on that! Focus on that feeling and stay awake! Dammit, how do I trace a call?!”

“Mhhh, too tired to think…”

“Don’t you dare! Chipp Zanuff, if you die on me I’ll never forgive you- !”

“It’ll be fine, An. It’ll…”

Misty red eyes rolled back in their sockets, and the circle of magic by his ear fizzled away and faded into nothing.


End file.
